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Monday, March 27, 2017

According to several recent reports, the small, isolated and low powered
shortwave station located on the west coast of Canada is now declared to be off
the air, permanently. The CBC Canadian
Broadcasting Corporation shortwave station CKZU has been serving northern
communities in British Columbia for ¾
of a century, it left the air last year due to equipment failure, and it is now
confirmed that the cost of replacement is not financially justified.

Several astute
international radio monitors observed that the station was providing only
intermittent service since about the middle of the year 2015, perhaps more
often off the air than on the air.
However, the noted international radio monitor Harold Sellers stated in
the Danish bulletin, DX Window, that he heard shortwave CKZU with a strong
signal on its regular 49 m band channel 6160 kHz on September 30, 2016.

Harold Sellers lives in
retirement in the city of Vernon in the central interior of British Columbia,
which is within the main target area of shortwave CKZU. That monitoring observation last year appears
to be the last reliable logging of the signal from shortwave CBC in Vancouver,
British Columbia.

Canadian international
radio monitor Walter Salmaniw lives on Vancouver Island in the provincial
capital Victoria, which is 60 miles across the waterway from the city of
Vancouver, the home for shortwave CKZU. Quoting
Colin Newell, Walter Salminaw stated in an internet release, that the CBC in
Vancouver has declared that the old CKZU transmitter is beyond repair, and the
cost for replacement is not justified, due to the very limited number of
listeners who tune in to its shortwave signal.

Shortwave CKZU has
always been co-located with the main CBC mediumwave station in Vancouver and it
was taken into service in December 1941.
At the time, the mediumwave callsign was CBR and the shortwave callsign
was CBRX. The low power RCA transmitter
was rated at just 150 watts, and the operating channel was 6160 kHz, the only
channel ever used for CBC shortwave in Vancouver.

The
transmitter and antenna system were co-installed with mediumwave CBR on Lulu
Island, in what we would call the southern suburban areas of the city of
Vancouver. This transmitter was placed
into service for two specific purposes: as a program feed to a network of small
LPRT low power CBC mediumwave relay transmitters throughout the province of
British Columbia, and for direct reception by isolated listeners in the same
areas.

Lulu
Island is a small, low and flat island at the southern edge of Vancouver
city. It is a silt island with some
areas below both sea level and river level.
The island was named in honor of a popular entertainer Lulu Sweet,
apparently from Hawaii, who bought property on the island. Perhaps it was true that Lulu Sweet was
indeed from Hono-lulu. An elevated dyke
has been built up around the entire populated area of Lulu Island as protection
against flooding from the Fraser River and against storms coming in from the
Pacific Ocean.

The
first transmitter base for CBC mediumwave CBR and shortwave CBRX was in the
area of Lulu Island which is now built
up as suburban housing. The first
antenna system was a diamond shaped rhombic, supported on four towers 50 feet
tall and each leg was 240 feet long. The
main lobe from this antenna system was directed a little to the northwest, thus
ensuring coverage into the hilly coastal areas of British Columbia to the
north.

On
January 25, 1952, the callsign for mediumwave CBR was changed to CBU, with the
CB indicating CBC and the U indicating Vancouver. At the same time, shortwave CBRX became CBUX,
with the X indicating shortwave.

Two
years later (1954), the small 150 watt RCA transmitter was replaced by a
Marconi transmitter from England, rated at 1 kW input and ½ kW output. Then, eleven years later again (1965), the
shortwave callsign was changed once more, due to the fact that international
radio callsigns beginning with the two letters CB belonged to Chile, not
Canada. Thus CBUX became CKZU.

Give
two more years (1967), and a completely new transmitter station was constructed
for CBC Vancouver. This new facility was
still located on Lulu Island, though it is now on the water-logged ocean side
of the protective dyke surrounding the built up housing areas of the
island. Shortwave CKZU was moved into
its new location alongside 50 kW CBU.

Then,
in 1983, a new shortwave transmitter was installed for CKZU, an American made 1
kW Elcom Bauer, Model 701B, from California.
This was the third shortwave transmitter for CBC Vancouver, and the one
that has been sputtering somewhat during the last few years. The antenna system, supported on four wooden
poles, is a dipole with passive reflector, thus still providing coverage to the
north.

In
2008, it was rumored that shortwave CKZU might close; in 2013 the CKZU license
was cancelled, though soon afterwards reinstated; in 2015 the station was off
the air, though in September last year it was noted on the air again, at least
for a while. Then in February earlier
this year, shortwave CKZU was declared inoperable.

Yes,
CBC shortwave in Vancouver has now joined the mounting pile of silent shortwave
stations, though you can still see on Google Earth the wobbly antenna system,
and the old transmitter building that still houses the 50 kW mediumwave CBU on
690 kHz. You will also see a scattered
clustering of old pine tree trunks that have been washed up into the area due
to storms and flooding.

So
what then is left these days in the shortwave scene in Canada? Yes, you can still hear the CBC shortwave
station CKZN in St John’s
Newfoundland with 1 kW on 6160 kHz; and CFVP in Calgary Alberta with 100 watts
on 6030 kHz; and CFRX in Toronto Ontario with 1 kW on 6070 kHz. And don’t forget the three channel operation
of the chronohertz station CHU in Ottawa Ontario on 3330 7850 & 14670
kHz.

If you need a current stamp list or supply list, I can email it to you.

NEWS: Can make up several per 100 49c units using 2 stamps
to total 50c (32c + 18c for example) What's an extra penny?? See grid
below.

BIGGER NEWS:Thinking it's about time to close up this DX biz....2016 was
worst yr ever. 2017 continuing the trend. Offering some MAJOR price breaks and
bulk discounts listed below. Will add more stamp offers next month, especially
on those countries that have a global forever stamp.

I will be keep the US discount postage going. Nearly 35 yrs doing this.
"The time has come..." the Walrus said.

NEW RATES:

United Kingdom: England, Scotland, N. Ireland, Wales. Increased their rate
late March. I updated all units 1st week of March. New rate for 20g is now 1,40
GB pounds. For the past several yrs in supplying their 20g rate, I have used 2
x 1st stamps (their version of forever stamp.) Their 1st stamp = 65p now For
proper rate, you should have 2 x 1st plus 10p. If you need a makeup, let me know
how much you need to bring to current rate.

NEW PRICES: S

IN STOCK AGAIN: Algeria, Mexico, Peru, Suriname.

STAMPS ON BACK ORDER: Saudi Arabia,

U.S. DISCOUNT POSTAGE DEALS!!

Save Big on your domestic mailings
when you plaster

your envelope
with colorful
vintage stamps!

HAPPY
MAILING!!

49c units

Forever

in 2 stamps

3 stamps

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x 100

$45.00

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$41.00

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x 200

$85.00

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x 500

$208.00

xxxx

$157.00

$157.00

Payment by Credit card, check or money
order

for forever stamps and 49c
units

No Charge
for posting Discount Postage Offers, sending only to USA
addresses.

APRIL 2017 DX STAMP
SPECIALS

2 Germany-$2.60 2 Russia-$2.60 3 Japan-$3.90

2 Italy-$7.00 2 UK-$3.00 2 France-$3.60 10
Spain-$17.50

10 Netherlands-$15.00 10 Belgium-$17.50 10
Austria-$20.00

APRIL 2017 DX SUPPLY
SPECIALS

200/200 European Plain Mailers and Plain Returns
- $40.00

200/200 European Air Mailers and Plain Returns -
$40.00

European AIR Returns are SOLD OUT!!

200/200 Stateside Mailers and Returns - $25.00

CLEARANCE
SPECIALS

1000/1000 European AIR Mailers and Plain Returns - $150.00
ppd.

1000/1000 European Plain Mailers and Plain Returns - $150.00
ppd.

1000/1000 Stateside mailers and Returns - $90.00 ppd.

4 Deluxe QSL Albums - $110.00 ppd.

4 Deluxe QSL Albums Slightly damaged - $90.00 ppd.

Priority Mail Shipping Rates: Orders up
to $40.00 add $9.00, orders from $41.00 to $100.00 add $15.00. orders from
$101.00 to $150.00 add $20.00, orders over $150.00 add 15%. When ordering
supplies and stamps, the stamps ride free, just use supply total to figure
shipping costs. Shipments to Canada and overseas ship at a greater cost.
(07/2015 modified)

Stamps Only Orders: Just add $1.00 P&H for
posting to USA, add $2.00 for posting to Canada.

Focus on the Middle Americas: The
first radio broadcasting station in Central America

The
Central American isthmus joins South America to North America, and these days
there are seven countries in Central America, with El Salvador as the
smallest. (However it should also be
stated that the Panama Canal
Zone held that honor for almost a century, during its American occupation from
1904 - 1999.)

In the pre-colonial eras,
Amerindians inhabited Central America, and when the Spanish arrived nearly five
hundred years ago, the Nahua speaking Pipil people from southern Mexico
occupied what is today the independent country of El Salvador. These tribal peoples knew the area as
Kuskatan, meaning the Land of Precious Jewels.

The first European visitor to the
area was the Spanish Admiral Andres Nino who led an expedition that landed on Meanguera island, which they named
Petronila. That was on May 31 in the
year 1522. Three years later, Spanish
colonists established a settlement, though there was considerable turmoil with
the local tribal people during that era.

Fifteen years later, El Salvador was
recognized as a Spanish colony; in 1821 El Salvador gained independence from
Spain; and in 1840, El Salvador achieved its own independence as a separate
country in Central America. However, it
seems that El Salvador has subsequently experienced more than its share of
political and internal unrest and turmoil.

This smallest of countries in
Central America is considerably less than 200 miles long and considerably less
than 100 miles wide. It is the most
densely populated country in Central America with a population of six
million. The country has 25 volcanoes
(together with many associated earthquakes), 14 lakes, a thousand species of
butterfly, and just three major cities: San Salvador, Santa Ana and San Miguel.

Tourism is one of the main sources
of income for El Salvador, with over a million visitors each year. In 2001 the country adopted the American
dollar as its official currency, replacing the Colon; and El Salvador is
sometimes described as: The country with a smile.

The first wireless station in El
Salvador was installed in Las Lomas de Candelaria, on the southern edge of the
capital city San Salvador, and it was already in operation in 1921. Four years later, the location was shown as
Venustiano Carranza, and the official callsign was given as SDA.

However, the geographic co-ordinates
for the 1921 listing are impossible, way out to sea; and the 1924 co-ordinates
are listed as only approximate.
Nevertheless, the available information would show that this first
wireless communication station in El Salvador was indeed located in a forested
area on the southern edge of suburban San Salvador.

It was on Monday March 1, 1926 that
El Salvador’s first radio
broadcasting station was inaugurated by President Alfonso Quinonez Molina under
the callsign AQM, the initials of the president himself. El Salvador lays claim that this was the
first radio broadcasting station in Central America.

This new radio broadcasting station,
with studio and transmitter, was installed on the second floor level of the
National Theater Building in San Salvador.
The original transmitter was an imported 500 watt unit from Western Electrical
in England. The Teatro Nacional de El Salvador,
completed and officially inaugurated in 1917, is itself the oldest National
Theater in Central America.

A subsequent callsign for this
original radio broadcasting station was RDN, standing for Radio Nacionales, and
when internationally approved callsigns were enjoined, RDN was allocated the
three now well known call letters YSS.
In 1933, the mediumwave channel was listed as 864 kHz.

On September 14, 1977, El Salvador
issued four postage stamps, each with the same design, though in different
colors and values, commemorating the 50th anniversary of radio broadcasting in
their country. Fifty years earlier from
September 14, 1977, would bring us back to September 14, 1927, which is one and
a half years after the recognized date for the first broadcast over the
original station AQM. So perhaps the
four postage stamps honored the occasion when the early experimental station
AQM-RDN metamorphosed into YSS, an officially recognized government radio
broadcasting service.

As
the years went by, station YSS Radio Nacional grew into a nationwide network;
at first on mediumwave only, and subsequently with a transfer to the standard
FM Band 2 that is still on the air to this day.
The earliest mediumwave frequency listing was on 864 kHz, and subsequent
mediumwave channels have been 638 kHz, 640 kHz and then their familiar split
channel listing 655 kHz.

During the 1980s, additional
mediumwave relay stations were installed in regional city locations, and ten
years later, there was a total of 6 stations in the network. During that era, their international callsign
YSS was modified to YSSS, in conformity with the national system of station
identification with four letters, each beginning with the two letters YS.

The largest number of mediumwave
stations in El Salvador was around the mid 1990s, with by that time almost 100
nationwide. These days there are
somewhere around 60 mediumwave stations on the air throughout El Salvador,
together with a full band of FM stations throughout the country. Radio Nacional in San Salvador is heard these
days on 96.9 FM, and their national program is heard throughout the country on
a network of FM relay stations.

More about the radio scene in El
Salvador in a coming edition of our DX program Wavescan.

Sunday, March 26, 2017

This week, in honor of the International Rueda de Casino Multi Flash Mob day that takes place April 1, our special guest Juanito Gómez, a leading figure in the Rueda de Casino dance movement in Cuba, will discuss the development of the Rueda de Casino phenomenon (in Spanish), and we also will have some excellent Cuban dance music that is popular with casineros.
Three opportunities to listen via shortwave:
1. For the Americas and parts of Western Europe:
WBCQ, 7490 KHz, Tuesdays 0000-0100 UTC (Mondays 8pm-9pm EDT in the Americas)
2. For Europe and beyond,
Channel 292, 6070 KHz, Fridays 1100-1200 UTC (1200-1300 CET) and Saturdays 1200-1300 UTC (1300-1400 CET)

Episode 5 of Uncle Bill’s Melting Pot, a musical variety program that features genres from A-Z, will air on WBCQ the Planet, 7490 KHz, Thursday, March 30 from 2300-2330 UTC (7:00pm-7:30pm EDT in the Americas). Brought to you by Tilford Productions, which also brings you From the Isle of Music.
(We aren’t showing on the WBCQ website yet, but we’ll be on.)
Check us out, and let us know what you think! Reception has been quite good in parts of Western Europe of late.
Episode 5 is our belated “welcome” to Spring and the related time change.

Monday, March 20, 2017

BBC World Service’s new Spring schedule rolls out from the end of March, continuing to reflect the funding boost received last year with strengthened original journalism, a fresh approach to arts programming and the launch of a new season of programmes exploring a varied collection of human stories.
New culture series In the Studio will give unique access to the world’s leading creative people in the process of making their art and work a reality. BBC OS will bring together Outside Source and World Have Your Say into a new extended two-hour programme, and The Newsroom will increase its coverage of key stories, with up to six broadcasts a day.
Launching in April is Life Stories - a new season exploring fascinating stories about who we are and how we live. BBC World Service is also rolling out a new product launch with BBC Minute On… - additional 60-second programmes which will explore a single subject in greater detail and be available to partner stations around the world.

This week, our
special guest Oriente López, the Musical Director of Afrocuba during much of the
1980s and now with his own excellent projects, will discuss both Afrocuba, one
of Cuba’s most interesting Fusion/Cuban Jazz ensembles, especially during the
1980s, and his own current projects, which are also fascinating. We will, of
course, listen to some wonderful music from these ensembles.Three
opportunities to listen via shortwave:1. For
the Americas and parts of Western Europe:WBCQ, 7490 KHz, Tuesdays 0000-0100
UTC (Mondays 8pm-9pm EDT in the Americas)2. For Europe and
beyond,Channel 292, 6070 KHz, Fridays 1100-1200 UTC (1200-1300 CET) and
Saturdays 1200-1300 UTC (1300-1400 CET)

Uncle Bill’s Melting
Pot, March 23, 2017Episode 4 of Uncle Bill’s Melting Pot, a
musical variety program that features genres from A-Z, will air on WBCQ the
Planet, 7490 KHz, Thursday, March 16 from 2300-2330 UTC (7:00pm-7:30pm EDT in
the Americas). Brought to you by Tilford Productions, which also brings you
From the Isle of Music.Uncle Bill doesn’t like us to say too much,
because part of the idea is to surprise you with things, but Episode 4 is
especially recommended for fans of music from the Balkans and for members of the
Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts (MARE)We aren’t showing on the WBCQ website
yet (apparently it likes surprises even more than Uncle Bill), but we’ll be on
the air. Check us out, and let us know what you think!(Tilford Productions)

Solar activity was at very low levels with no observable spots on the solar disk. No Earth-directed CMEs were observed during the period.

No proton events were observed at geosynchronous orbit.

The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit was at normal to moderate levels with high levels observed on 13-15 March. The largest flux value of the period was 8,800 pfu observed at 14/1655 UTC.

Geomagnetic field activity ranged from quiet to unsettled levels. Solar wind speed was at nominal levels between 300 km/s and 400 km/s through most of the period with total field near 5 nT. On 15-16 March, a slight increase in solar wind speed and total field was observed just after a solar sector boundary crossing at 15/0008 UTC.
This was likely due to a weak connection to a positive polarity coronal hole high speed stream (CH HSS). Total field increased to 9 nT while solar wind speed increased to near 433 km/s. The geomagnetic field responded with isolated unsettled periods on 15 and 16 March.

Forecast of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity 20 March - 15 April 2017

Solar activity is expected to be at very low levels for the forecast
period.

No proton events are expected at geosynchronous orbit.

The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to be at normal to moderate levels with high levels likely on 24 March and again from 29 March - 11 April due to recurrent CH HSS activity.

Geomagnetic field activity is expected to be at unsettled to active levels on 21-24 March and again from 28 March - 06 April. G1 (Minor) geomagnetic storm levels are likely on 23, 28-31 March and 02 April while G2 (Moderate) geomagnetic storm levels are likely on 28-29 March due to recurrent CH HSS effects.

Friday, March 17, 2017

Now that most of North America
has changed to Daylight Savings Time, most Americans and Canadians will hear VOA
Radiogram one hour later by local time. This is because VOA Radiogram stays at
the same UTC time year round. The same will happen for European listeners
beginning 26 March

Also that last weekend of
March, many shortwave broadcast stations will change some of their frequencies
to correspond with seasonal shifts in propagation. The only change for VOA
Radiogram from North Carolina is that the Saturday 0930-1000 UTC broadcast will
move from 5865 to 5745 kHz, effective 1 April.

Italian
Broadcasting Corporation (IBC) For the complete IBC
transmission schedule, including changes after 27 March, visit http://ibcradio.webs.com/
The new English version of IBC’s “Shortwave Panorama” begins 31 March, via
WRMI Florida, Friday 01.00-01.30 UTC on 9955 kHz, Saturday
01.30-02.00 UTC 11580 kHz, andSunday 00.30-01.00 UTC on 7730 kHz. The
last five minutes of these shows will be in MFSK32.

Thanks for your
reception reports from last weekend. In comparison of the two 58-wpm modes,
MFSK16 and Olivia 8-1000, it appears that MFSK16 performed better, based on most
reports.

Due to commitments related to my audience research work at VOA,
I am vastly behind in answering your reports, but I hope to get back on track
this weekend.

Twitter: @VOARadiogram
(especially active just before, during, and after
broadcasts)

PS: A few
operating notes:

For
best Olivia 64-2000 performance, turn Fldigi's squelch (SQL) off.

The
RSID at 1500 Hz sometimes mixes with the transmitter hum, most noticeable at 360
Hz, to move your receive audio frequency down to 1140 Hz, resulting in no
decode. To prevent this, in Fldigi: Configure > IDs > RsID >
unselect Searches passband. Your center audio frequency will wander no
more than +/- 200 Hz.

Fldigi
automatically saves your decoded MFSK images as png files in the folder
\fldigi.files\images\ (in Windows; folder names might be different with other
operating systems). You can attach those png files with your reception
report.

The
VOA Radiogram Twitter account @VOARadiogram is especially active before, during,
and after the broadcasts. You don't need a Twitter account: just go to https://twitter.com/voaradiogram and refresh it
occasionally.

Next scheduled transmissions from Radio City
Friday March 17th at 19:00- 20:00 via IRRS on 7290 kHz and repeated Saturday March 18 at 09:00-10:00 via IRRS on 9510 kHz
Older programs may be repeated at random other Saturdays. Older programs may also be transmitted by Challenger Radio in Italy on 1368, 846 and 567 kHz.
Saturdays at 00:00 and Saturdays at 20:30 (two different slots). There will be a different program via Hamburger Lokalradio Saturday March 25 at 13:00-14:00 on 7265 kHz. After that, during the period of daylight shifting time transmissions will be one hour earlier in UTC schedules.

European Music Radio Transmissions via:
WBCQ to Central & North America on 5130 kHz on March 18, 23:00 to 00:00.
Shortwave Station Göhren on 9485 kHz on March 19, 09:00-10:00.
Channel 292 on 6070 kHz on March 19, 16:00-17:00.
Contact email: emrshortwave@gmail.com
Internet Repeats on 19th March 2017:
EMR will repeat this months transmissions via two streams running at the following times:16:00, 18:00, 20:00.
http://nednl.net:8000/emr.m3u will be on 96 kbps /44 kHz stereo for normal listening.
http://nednl.net:8000/emr24.m3u will be 24 kbps / 22 kHz mono will be especially for low bandwidth like mobile phones.

Hobart Radio via:
Channel 292 to Western Europe on 6070 kHz Saturdays fortnightly between 09:00 to 09:30.
WRMI to Americas, Asia/Pacific on 9955 kHz Sunday between 04:30 to 05:00
WRMI to Americas, Asia/Pacific on 9955 kHz Tuesday between 23:30 to 00:00
WBCQ to North America on 5130 kHz Mondays 04:30 to 05:00
Contact email: hriradio@gmail.com

For outside the listening area please try the Twente/Netherlands Web RX at http://websdr.ewi.utwente.nl:8901/

You can also hear many European free and alternative stations via the Internet at: http://laut.fm/jukebox

Several
emessages on the internet dated for January 19 inform us that the previous VOA
Voice of America relay station located at Iranawila in Sri Lanka is under
demolition. This is now the second VOA
station on the island of Ceylon-Sri Lanka that has been closed and demolished;
and this Iranawila station was listed as the largest VOA station outside of the
United States.This is the story.

In December 1984, authorities
representing the Voice of America and the Sri Lankan government signed a
document of approval to establish a new VOA station on the island. This new station would be set up with a total
of 6 shortwave transmitters; 2 at 250 kW and 4 at 500 kW.

At the time of my visit to the
Iranawila site by taxi during the following year (1985), I found the projected
new location, though it was still in occupation by the local village people,
with all of the protected coconut palm trees still standing. At
the approach to the property on the track leading to the projected station,
there was a big signboard in the two languages, English and Sinhala (SING-a-la
or sin-HA-la), indicating that this was the location for the huge new VOA relay
station. This station was located on the
coast on an extensive property of 1,000 acres, in walking distance to the
Indian Ocean.

According
to international radio reports back then, supplementary information about the
new station included the installation of an additional powerful 600 kW
mediumwave transmitter. In addition, the
already operational receiver station a few miles distant at Seeduwa would be
upgraded.

During the initial stages of
development of the property, there was considerable opposition to the project
on the part of the 188 fisher families that would be displaced. Their opposition included attacks on construction
personnel, one resulting in death, and damage to the station itself.

Villagers
attending the local Catholic Church supported the opposition to the radio
project. It seems that subsequently the
acquisition of the property was modified somewhat, and perhaps moved just a
little further inland.

Progress on the project was slow and
the first four transmitters, new 500 kW units from Cincinnati Electronics in
Ohio Model 86128 were installed in 1992.
Three years later, three transmitters from the closed VOA station in
Bethany Ohio, BBC Model SK53C3, were taken out of storage in Brooklyn New York
and shipped to Sri Lanka for installation at Iranawila.

An additional four Marconi
transmitters at 500 kW Model B6132 were subsequently shipped to Iranawila, but
during installation, one was destroyed by fire.
The three remaining units were still in their original unopened shipping
containers and not damaged.

It is officially stated that the
cause of the fire on November 5, 1996 remains unknown. An additional replacement transmitter was
shipped out from England soon afterwards.

Then in 1997, three more
transmitters were shipped out to Sri Lanka from the recently closed VOA relay
station at Gloria in Portugal. These
additional units were nine years old, Continentals at 250 kW Model 419F2.

The first test transmissions from
the new VOA Iranawila were noted in the United States on October 30, 1997. One transmitter was on the air, and test
tones were radiated progressively on several different shortwave channels.

Some eighteen months later, the
station underwent a weeklong series of proof of performance tests, beginning on
July 17, 1999. At the end of seven long
years of construction activity, this new VOA relay station was now on the air,
carrying a full load of VOA programming beamed to the many countries of Asia.

However, give another seventeen
years, and the antenna systems needed considerable repair, including the replacement
of a quarter million bolts due to salt air corrosion. It was declared that the station was too
expensive to operate, and it would be closed.
Friday June 10 (2016) was the last day of on air operation. Next day, the station lay silent.

On January 19 (2017), English
newspapers in Colombo Sri Lanka reported that the VOA shortwave station at
Iranawila was being dismantled. The
station assets would be taken over by the Sri Lankan army, Sri Lanka Telekom,
and SLBC the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation.

It was reported that SLBC planned to
take over one of the 250 kW transmitters, presumably as a replacement at their
recently acquired station in Trincomalee.
The land, now measuring only 410 acres for which VOA was paying $40,000
a year on lease, will be taken over by the island government and developed as
an eco-friendly tourist zone.

On March 16, 1999, two well known
and highly respected international radio monitors, Anker Petersen from Denmark
and Victor Goonetillike from nearby Colombo, paid a visit to the station by
prior appointment, and they reported that the station contained 4 transmitters
at 500 kW each, together with 26 curtain antennas.

At the time of closure in the middle
of last year, the newspapers reported that the station contained a total of 8
transmitters in use; 6 at 250 kW and 2 at 500 kW. At this stage, the 2016 edition of the WRTVHB
listed 7 transmitters at Iranawila; 3 at 250 kW and 4 at 500 kW, though the
2004 edition of the WRTVHB listed 10 transmitters; 6 @ 250 kW and 4 at 500 kW.

Relying upon all of the
international radio reports over the past nearly quarter century, we would
suggest that a total of 13 shortwave transmitters had been installed at VOA
Iranawila, including the one that was destroyed by fire. Only 8 were listed as active at the time when
the station was closed.

What happened to the other 4
transmitters? Were they active but not
listed? Were they on site but
inactive? Had they been removed and sold
as scrap? Or is our information not
totally accurate? I guess we will never
know.

And in answer to another question:
Was the VOA relay station at Iranawila the largest outside the United
States? It is true, VOA did contemplate
enlarged plans for their station in Sri Lanka.
However, even if all 13 transmitters are taken into account, the VOA
station at Tinang in the Philippines does actually possess a larger contingent
of shortwave transmitters than the one in Sri Lanka.

Monday, March 13, 2017

Australia
2325 kHz (Tennant Creek), 2485 kHz (Katherine) and 4835 kHz (Alice Springs) verified as the last day transmission sent by regular postal mail with a nice, long e-mail response from Ryan MacArthur who works in Master Control at ABC Darwin. Received in 14 days. He attached a scan of their previous QSL card, since they no longer have any physical cards to send out. "Our presenters and staff enjoyed hearing from shortwave listeners all around the world. Most recently, we heard from a listener as far away as Finland. It is a shame that yours will probably be the last correspondence we receive, now that the shortwave service has ended."
(Rich D'Angelo-PA-USA, DXplorer via wwdxc BC-DX TopNews March 5)

Tajikistan
7245 kHz. Received an E-QSL from Ovozi Tojik, plus photos of employees. They accepted the transmission of the radio station Ovozi Tochik in Russian on February 18, from 0800 to 0900 UTC.
(SR Shukhrat Rakhmatullaev, Tashkent, Uzbekistan / "deneb-radio-dx" via RUSdx #915 via wwdxc BC-DX TopNews March 12)